Mantawi festival seen to draw international attention

The Mandaue City government is set to intensify the promotion of its "Mantawi Festival" to the world market, highlighting the re-positioning of the city into "Modern Mandaue."

This year's Mantawi Festival 2006 will largely take advantage of the busy preparations for the ASEAN Summit in December, which reflected in its theme dubbed "Taking Roots, Soaring High with ASEAN."

With Mandaue City as the pivotal venue for the ASEAN Summit, the Mantawi Festival is the initial thrust of the local government's effort to support the successful hosting of the event, said Jonkie Ouano, executive assistant to the Mayor.

Mantawi Festival 2006 which was launched last week and will culminate this coming May 7, is expected to draw international attention to booming Mandaue City as the next destination in the world of business, tourism and investments with the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).

Located on a 3.8 hectare reclaimed land worth half a billion pesos, the CICC heralds the foray of Mandaue City as the Covention Center of the South, Ouano said.

The one-month celebration of Mantawi Festival will include several activities that will primarily boost the investment capabilities of the city, and its culture.

The completion of the CICC he added is seen to boost the economic dynamism of Mandaue City, which at present is driven by over 10,000 micro, small, medium, and large enterprises. The city accounts for 40 percent of the total export in the furniture sector, thus making Mandaue the furniture capital of the country.

"Mandaue City is an attractive investment option for businessmen seeking opportunities in Cebu because of the lower cost of doing business (no sales tax, lower taxes and cost of living), excellent delivery of basic services, and peace and order. On top of its business friendly policies, Mandaue's sound fiscal management relieves its taxpayers with the burden of unnecessary loans," Ouano said.

The holding of the festival he stressed is one of the effective ways of promoting the City to the international market, as one of the preferred cities for investments.

Ouano further said that the economic excitement in Mandaue City is concentrated on the Mandaue Reclamation area, making it the country's fastest growth center in the South.

Aside from the CICC, other developments in the area includes the construction of Cebu Doctors University new campus, the Cebu Boardwalk-a multi use development project that will feature a marina and the Taft I.T Zone which will feature world-class facilities for IT companies.

The proposed Cebu International Trade and Exhibition Center (CITEX) has also been already endorsed by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to JICA for funding.

The festivity this year is expected to create an indelible mark for Mandaue City in both the business and tourism sectors, truly giving homage to its historic role as Cebu's economic powerhouse, Ouano concluded. - Ehda M. Dagooc